Vegan News for December 2025

EVENTS

Saturday, December 6, 11 am - 3 pm. Common Ground Collective and Wailele Farms at Twin Falls present A Ho’olawa Kine A Day. Live music, kalo workshop, holiday arts and crafts, pictures with Santa, free food while supplies last. A free quarterly kama’aina exclusive event. For more information, call 808-856-0906.

Sunday, December 7, 12 noon HST. Plant-Based or Bust? Finding Common Ground in Nutrition Science, Christopher Gardner, Ph.D., Rehnborg Farquhar Professor of Medicine, Stanford University. Online presentation sponsored by the Vegan Society of Hawaii. vsh.org/zoom

Friday, December 12, 5-8 pm. Surfrider Maui 30th Anniversary Celebration. Tickets $45. Delicious farm-fresh meal from Moku Roots Farm. Special 30-year tribute and stories. Live music with local artist Anthony Pfluke.
 Details and tickets here.

Saturday, December 13, 6:30 pm. Nourishing Paradise: Veganizing Local Hawaiian Foods, with Lillian Cumic. Free. Presented by the Vegan Society of Hawaii. J. Walter Cameron Center, 95 Mahalani Street, Wailuku. More info: 808-722-9782.

The Vegan Society of Hawaii sponsors online and in-person presentations. Check here for updates.

Moku Roots offers a series of vegan brunches and dinners at its Kula farm. Sign up for notices about ongoing events.

Check our Facebook page for additional events.

NEWS AND TRENDS

A Vegan Diet Could Cut Your Environmental Impact By 50%

Coordinated Attacks on Veganism: How Industry-Backed Campaigns Shape Online Discourse

U.S. Senate Takes Action to Expand Nondairy Milk Access in Schools

Plant-based diets are even better for the planet than we realized … Mediterranean Diet Loses to Vegan in Head-to-Head Weight Loss Trial

Are Plant-Based Foods Becoming More Affordable Than Meat? New Data Says Yes

Livestock farmers can double income by switching to plant-based agroforestry, ProVeg finds

Plant-based Meat Global Market Goes Mainstream as Demand Surges Beyond Vegan Consumers … Global move towards plant-based diets could reshape farming jobs and reduce labor costs worldwide

How Veganism is Transforming American Diets

Forbes: Why Your Next Dining-Out Experience Should Be 100% Vegan

HEALTH AND NUTRITION

Plant-based oat protein hybrid doubles iron absorption in women

Scientists Discover a Diet That Can Prevent and Reverse a Key Type of Heart Disease

8 ultra-processed vegan foods that nutritionists say you should avoid completely - VegOut

SPORTS AND FITNESS

This NFL Defensive End Found Success on a 100% Vegan Diet

Vegan Martial Artist Max Urschl Wins NAGA European Title

Vegan Multi-Champion Runner Sets US Record

Athletes Who Changed Their Game by Changing Their Lifestyle

CONNECTIONS

If you live on Maui or visit regularly, you might visit three Facebook pages, Vegan on Maui, Maui Vegans and the Facebook companion page to this website, Maui Vegan Life.

THIS MONTH IN VEGAN HISTORY

UK Government Moves Legislation to Ban Live Exports (Dec 4, 2023)
Following the 2020 consultation, a bill is introduced to ban live exports for slaughter and fattening, reflecting growing public support for farm-animal protections. (It became law on May 20, 2024.)

Food Finally Front-and-Center at COP28 (Dec 1 & 10, 2023)
At Dubai’s climate summit, 130+ nations sign the Emirates Declaration to integrate food and agriculture into climate plans, and COP hosts a first-ever “Food Day,” elevating plant-rich diets in climate strategy.

Global Biodiversity Framework Adopted (Dec 19, 2022)
Nearly 200 countries agree in Montreal to the Kunming-Montreal GBF, including targets that push sustainable consumption and nature-positive food systems.

Vegan Hotel Opens in Hawaii (December 2021)
Hawaii’s first vegan hotel, Volcano Echo Retreat, opens on the Big Island.

Spain Recognizes Animals as Sentient (Dec 2 & 15–16, 2021)
Spain’s Congress approves and publishes Law 17/2021, reforming the Civil Code so animals are legally treated as sentient beings, not objects.

UK Opens Live-Export Ban Process (Dec 3, 2020)
The government launches a consultation to end live animal exports for slaughter and fattening from England and Wales, a long-sought welfare reform.

US Dietary Guidelines 2020–2025 Released (Dec 29, 2020)
The new federal guidelines emphasize healthy dietary patterns across life stages, reinforcing plant-forward eating in public-facing nutrition advice.

Singapore First to Approve Cultivated Meat (Dec 1–2, 2020)
Singapore authorizes the sale of cultivated chicken, a world first that accelerates alt-protein innovation aimed at displacing conventional meat.

First Vegan Chef Hired at Bon Appétit (December 2020)
Bon Appétit hires its first vegan chef, Chrissy Tracey.

Media Declare “Year of the Vegan” (Dec 2018)
As plant-based foods surge, major outlets predict 2019 will be “the year of the vegan,” propelling mainstream visibility for vegan products and culture.

UK Enacts One of the Toughest Ivory Bans (Dec 20, 2018)
The Ivory Act receives Royal Assent, curbing ivory trade and signaling a major conservation milestone that aligns with ethical consumer sentiment.

Blue Planet II Finale Supercharges Ocean Awareness (Dec 10, 2017)
The BBC series’ plastic-and-wildlife storyline peaks with its finale, fueling global behavior change campaigns tied to ocean health and seafood ethics.

NIH Ends Chimpanzee Research (Dec 2015)
The U.S. National Institutes of Health announces it will cease support for invasive chimpanzee research and retire the remaining chimps to sanctuary.

Paris Climate Deal Sets the Table (Dec 12, 2015)
196 parties adopt the Paris Agreement, accelerating policy conversations about diet-related emissions and shifts toward plant-rich eating.

Mexico Moves to End Circus Animals (Dec 12, 2014)
Mexico’s Congress votes to ban animals in circuses nationwide, a high-profile Latin American win for animal welfare.

Benefits of a Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet Detailed. (December 10, 2004)
T. Colin Campbell's The China Study detailed the unparalleled health benefits of a whole foods, plant-based diet.

International Animal Rights Day Begins (Dec 10, 1998)
UK group Uncaged launches International Animal Rights Day on Human Rights Day to spotlight animals’ moral standing and suffering.

Groundbreaking Book on the Environmental Impact of Meat Published (December 31, 1986)
John Robbins's Diet for a New America, which associated meat-eating with environmental damage.

Universal Rights Inspire Animal Rights (Dec 10, 1948)
The UN adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, later inspiring animal advocates to link human and nonhuman rights on the same date every year.

Watson Questions Eating Dairy Products (December 1943)
British woodworker Donald Watson, founder of the Vegan Society, presented "Should Vegetarians Eat Dairy Produce?" and noted that "the cow feels the loss of her calf in much the same way that a human mother would feel the loss of her child."

Gandhi’s Case for the Morality of Vegetarianism Published (December 1931)
The full text of Gandhi’s talk on the moral basis of vegetarianism is published in Vegetarian News.

Animal Rights Pioneer Dies (December 2, 1861)
Lewis Gompertz, author of an influential book promoting an early prototype of what is now called animal rights and veganism and a co-founder of the world’s first Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, dies.